Hello, I was recently diagnosed with CMI. I have a cyst and my spinal cord is full of fluid. Currently, I have horrible head aches, numbness and tingling of my entire right side-almost to the point of paralysis. My surgery is scheduled for January 5, 2010. As a divorced mother of 3 teenagers, I am wondering how long will I need someone to assist me with my day-to-day activites once I have the surgery. Unfortunately, I live in one state while the majority of my friends and family reside elsewhere. I generally recover quite quickly from surgery; however, I have never brain surgery. With the surgery, I am hoping for the best, but planning for the worse. This diagnosis and surgery has really caught me off guard and I am trying to ensure all of my affairs are in order. I was thinking that I should stagger all of my helpers so that I can have assistance in later weeks. Also, I was wanting to view a video of the decompression surgery, but have not been successful in finding anything. As a woman, I am also concerned about how much of my hair will I need to have cut and how does the scarring heal. Please assist. Thanks!